days_unfolding

Hmm. I have library books to pick up, but I need a way to keep them away from Bella. Maybe the bottom drawer of my nightstand.

Overslept this morning. I'll need to take my shower during lunch.

My showers are endlessly fascinating to the fur kids. I think that it's the sound of the water. Today, I had Bella and Lily observing.

Having the aquarium next to my work desk is very relaxing even without fish. The hum of the filter and water sounds are very meditative. And I like looking at the plants. Hmm, I had thought that I wanted plants up here, but maybe the aquarium plants are enough. Though maybe I'll get some African Violets for my desk. Lowe's has African Violets.

Had some really good Orange Chicken for lunch. The frozen dish was kind of pricey, but oh, so good. (It blows my mind what food costs these days!)

I was on the way back from the library, using Mom’s car, when it slowed down to a crawl even when I hit the gas, and the Check Engine light went on. I managed to get it home using my flashers. Unless it’s something like transmission fluid, it probably isn’t worth fixing. Any ideas on what might cause it?

I got the garbage out. Well, most of it, anyway.

I took my car to Walmart for soda and some food. I’m set for the snow.

Hmm. I wound up staying up late, but tomorrow probably will be a pajama day. Though I will have to get the recycling out in the snow. I need to email the trust, feed the cats, and go to sleep.

Kind of tired today. It snowed this morning, and the highway conditions Web site says that the highway that I take is "partially covered in snow," so I'm going to take a short nap after class and give them time to clear it. I need to stop at the library on the way out though to pick up a couple of books.

I've decided to ask the unloading folks to just put the boxes in the garage, and I'll pull them out box by box. Then I won't have to worry about the cats, and the unloading will go quickly.

Hmm. Class is over and the roads are clear now, but I really want to take a short nap. I'll keep it short. Had a nice nap. Fed the girls.

Found out where to park for the library and where the drop-boxes are. Picked up my books.

I'm in Lincoln now at Steak and Shake. And I picked up my messages, and Mom is in the hospital. They're not sure what's wrong, but she is run down. A nurse thinks that her lung cancer has spread, but Mom doesn't think so. I tried calling back, but she didn't answer. I just want to go to bed and pull the covers over my head, but I need to get stuff ready for the movers tomorrow.

I bought Mom a stuffed animal that's an elephant (she likes elephants), but I have no way to get it to her.

Crap. I have more stuff to pack than I remembered. Well, I'll get done what I get done. Mom being in the hospital has flattened me, so I'm going to close my eyes on the air mattress for a few minutes. Well, I got into a lengthy text conversation with a friend of my mom's instead of closing my eyes, but it helped.

I'm on a roll now. I have certain things that I want to get packed, and I'll do what I can tomorrow as well because the movers won't be here until 2 PM. Okay, I got the big or heavy stuff and am calling it good.

I'm back. It occurred to me that I probably can squeeze in a box or two after they load the truck. So I'm good. I fed the girls their midnight snack, and I'm going to crash quickly.

I had a self-esteem moment. I realized that I accomplished everything that I set out to do last fall (well, I'm still wrapping up the move, but I'll get it done). Move the things that I wanted from my aunt's house? Check. Move the things that my mom wanted from my aunt's house? Check. Get good enough grades in my classes to continue with the program? Check. Move? Partial check and I'm working on it.

I had a feeling that when I got the mail that I'd hear from my friend Lance, and I did. He sent me a Christmas card. His handwriting is always challenging, but I got more out of it the second time that I read it :) He's itching to move somewhere else too (he lives in Kansas City), but doesn't know where or when.

I read some articles about keeping your mobility as you get older. They recommended yoga and tai chi, which is also in plan. And they recommended a walking habit. I looked at Mayo Clinic's walking plan, and it starts with five minutes of warm up, five minutes of walking, and five minutes of cool down. I can do that. And I pulled out cards for some of the yoga poses that we did in class to practice them. And I asked ChatGPT for the most commonly used yoga poses. Hmm, there is a tai chi place in Champaign that is on Tuesday nights starting from January 25th. But I'd miss yoga.

I just found a bunch of organizing books that I don't want to pay for, so I need to get a library card at the local library and have at it! I downloaded my electric and gas bill onto my phone along with my lease. I still need to get the printer fixed though. Speaking of my bill, it's rather high though, so I need to find ways to save on the bill.

I'm poking at kitchen boxes and found my utensils, which looks like a good place to start. I'm going to have to shift stuff around for some of it because I can't get books up until I get rid of more boxes. I'm looking for the box in which I packed the electric cord for my treadmill, but haven't found it yet.

The utensils were from the utensil junk drawer, which I don't have in this kitchen. I have exactly one drawer. I could put some of them in a pencil cup, but what about stuff like measuring cups and cookie cutters? Oh, someone suggested hanging them on the inside of cabinet doors. I could get command hooks. When I need a break, I need to sit down and figure out how to organize that stuff. There was a shallow pull-out drawer in which I put a bunch of utensils.

I'm looking at spice racks. I think that I found a winner, but I'll need two of them and sheesh, expensive. (I had them on the side of the refrigerator in the old place, but can't do so here, plus I had a lot of overflow.)

I need to take the recycling out, but I wish that it would stop raining. The forecasters are saying that it will rain until 11 PM though. Bummer. I threw on my raincoat and put it out.

I had a fabulous dinner of Meijer's shrimp and lobster bake. Now I want a short nap. I wasn't able to sleep, but I spent some time in a darkened room with a purring cat snuggled up to me. Very relaxing.

Now I've run out of steam, so I'm going to do some change-of-address work and then go to bed early on this rainy, dreary day. I can't nap during lunch because of classes and after work because of yoga, so I need to get some good sleep.

I changed the address for the DMV and Capital One. PNC and Comcast are not coming up, so I'm going to pack it in and call it a night.

I ordered a couple of pairs of black pants because some of mine won't fit. Must assemble the FitDesk pronto.

Speaking of the FitDesk, Zara was going after the Styrofoam, which she's never done before, so I lobbed a pillow at her to get her to leave and shut the door.

Got us fed. Watched a little of the Governor's final COVID-19 briefing, but then the sound cut out, which I took as a sign that I should take a nap. Which I did.

Some local restaurants have put out outdoor seating. I have to go to one of them somewhere along the line. It would be very nice to eat in a restaurant.

When I signed up for the Coursera IT specialization, I accidentally chose a debit card with an expired expiration. I wish Coursera would remove that card. Anyway, I need to go get it fixed.

Our local public library is now offering curbside service. The books that I want to check out aren't in the local system however.

The doorknob on my bathroom door has self-destructed. Need to fix it. I suppose that I could ask the maintenance guy to fix it, but I'd rather not have to deal with him.

One of my tomato plants already has flowers. That was fast.

There's a computer without an OS on eBay with specs that I like. I don't have a great space to work on it, though, while I have my work laptop at home. It's always something. I bid on it. I've saved a bunch of articles on how to install Windows and Linux to create a dual-boot machine.

Had my Italian lesson. I'm learning to tell time in Italian.

Made Balsamic Fig Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Mixed Greens. It was pretty good. HelloFresh is off to a good start.

I can't find Zara, but she must be here somewhere. She ate dinner.

I think that I'm going to crash and work on the FitDesk tomorrow. Maybe I'll do some of the IT class first. I also have Sunday to do stuff because I'm taking the day off.